I've been testing the Sony Alpha NEX-5 and NEX-5N camera and had to figure out a workflow to manage the video they capture. One of the formats that Sony uses for movies is AVCHD, which can be difficult when working with iMovie on a Mac. Fortunately, I have a few tips to make it easier.

Generally, update to iMovie’11 (version 9.0.1 and later), you can easily import Sony NEX-5N, NEX-5 60i MTS shootings using Camera Import, but some video playback or audio problems may still exist. Plus, you probably will encounter problems when you want to ingest 60p footage from Sony NEX-5N to iMovie. The reason that you can’t successfully import those recorded AVCHD 2.0 footages on 1080p60 to iMovie is limited by iMovie itself. Currently 1080/60p footage is a very non-standard format and it’s unsupported in iMovie 8/9 even the latest iMovie’11. Take into account these existed or potential issues, you need transcode AVCHD to Apple Intermediate Codec(AIC) encoded .mov format first, which is a native format for iMovie 8/9/11. It’s a great way to achieve your goal smoothly.

Guide on Converting Sony NEX-5/5N AVCHD 2.0 to AIC .mov for iMovie

The quick workaround is to use the easy-to-use yet professional app Brorsoft MTS/M2TS Converter for Mac which can be used as a Sony AVCHD MTS Converter under OS X Leopard (10.5), Snow Leopard (10.6), Lion (10.7), Mountain Lion (10.. It is free, clean and safe to install and use. With it, you can fast convert MTS recordings from Sony NEX-5/5N to AIC .mov for iMovie, as well as Apple ProRes for FCP, DNxHD for Avid Media Composer, etc. Now download and go through the whole conversion process.

Step 1: Load NEX-5N/5 AVCHD files to the software

Run the best MTS Converter for iMovie and you can click either ‘Add Video’ button or ‘Add from folder’ button to load source .mts or .m2ts files. If you want to combine the loaded AVCHD clips into one file, simply tick off the checkbox before ‘Merge into one file’.

Step 2: Choose output format for iMovie

Click the format bar, and move mouse cursor to “iMovie and Final Cut Express -> Apple InterMediate Codec (AIC) (*.mov)”, which is the best editing format for iMovie program.

Tip: To get better video quality for editing AVCHD in iMovie, you can click ‘Settings’ button to set video resolution(1920×1080/1440×1080/1280×720/720×480), bitrate(from 1Mbps to 20Mbps), frame rate (24p/25p/30p) as you want.

Step 3: Start encoding AVCHD to AIC .mov

Click the convert button under the preview window, and the MTS to MOV converter program will start converting Sony NEX-5/5N AVCHD MTS to iMovie AIC .mov format on Mac OS X.

After the conversion, you can click “Open” button to get the generated QuickTime AIC .mov files effortlessly. Afterwards, launch iMovie, and click File > Import > Movies to add the output files to iMovie for editing. Now you can edit Sony NEX-5/5N AVCHD footage in iMovie 8/9/11 without any issue.

Summary: If got some Sony NEX-5N 1080/60p MTS videos, and wanna edit these video files in iMovie on Mac, just get the simple way from this tutorial to edit these high-definition Sony MTS videos in iMovie easily.

The Sony Alpha NEX-5N is the fourth model in Sony's NEX line of APS-C format mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. And the 5N is a direct replacement for its predecessor the NEX-5, using the company's latest 16.1MP CMOS sensor in place of the previous 14MP chip. Using the NEX-5N, you can record Full HD .mts clips at 1080/60p mode. While enjoying the stunning HD image quality, many folks are having problems when importing 60p AVCHD footage to iMovie (even with the lastest iMovie’11). If you’re in such a situation, you can read on the article to learn more, which mainly shows you how to get Sony NEX-5N 1080/60p AVCHD files and iMovie to work beautifully.

Generally, update to iMovie’11 (version 9.0.1 and later), you can easily import Sony NEX-5N 60i MTS shootings using Camera Import. However, you may encounter problems when you want to ingest 60p footage from NEX-5N to iMovie. The reason that you can’t successfully import those recorded AVCHD footages on 1080p60 format to iMovie is limited by iMovie itself. Currently 1080/60p footage is a very non-standard format and it’s unsupported in iMovie 8/9 even the latest iMovie’11.

To smoothly import and edit Sony NEX-5N 60p AVCHD footage in iMovie, you can use 3rd-party software to transcode AVCHD to Apple Intermediate Codec(AIC) encoded .mov format first, which is a native format for iMovie 8/9/11. It’s a great way to achieve your goal smoothly. For this purpose, this article will show you how to conveert and import Sony NEX-5N 60p AVCHD footage to iMovie for editing in detail.

The quick workaround is to use the easy-to-use yet professional app Brorsoft MTS/M2TS Converter for Mac which can be used as a Sony AVCHD MTS Converter under OS X Leopard (10.5), Snow Leopard (10.6), Lion (10.7), Mountain Lion (10.. It is free, clean and safe to install and use. With it, you can fast convert MTS recordings from Sony NEX-5N to AIC .mov for iMovie, as well as Apple ProRes for FCP, DNxHD for Avid Media Composer, etc. Now download and go through the whole conversion process.

Step 1: Load NEX-5N 60p AVCHD files to the software

Run the best MTS Converter for iMovie and you can click either ‘Add Video’ button or ‘Add from folder’ button to load source .mts or .m2ts files. If you want to combine the loaded AVCHD clips into one file, simply tick off the checkbox before ‘Merge into one file’.

Step 2: Choose output format for iMovie

Click the format bar, and move mouse cursor to “iMovie and Final Cut Express -> Apple InterMediate Codec (AIC) (*.mov)”, which is the best editing format for iMovie program.

Tip: To get better video quality for editing AVCHD in iMovie, you can click ‘Settings’ button to set video resolution(1920×1080/1440×1080/1280×720/720×480), bitrate(from 1Mbps to 20Mbps), frame rate (24p/25p/30p) as you want.

Step 3: Start encoding AVCHD to AIC .mov

Click the convert button under the preview window, and the MTS to MOV converter program will start converting Sony NEX-5N 60p AVCHD to iMovie AIC .mov format on Mac OS X.

After the conversion, you can click “Open” button to get the generated QuickTime AIC .mov files effortlessly. Afterwards, launch iMovie, and click File > Import > Movies to add the output files to iMovie for editing. Now you can edit Sony NEX-5N 60p AVCHD footage in iMovie 8/9/11 without any issue.